There is evidence that hot climatic temperatures and crime are linked. With climate change raising temperatures around the world, it is possible we may see higher levels of personal aggression. Based on data from Russia, this column shows that on hotter days, women are more likely to be killed in homicides, especially over weekends. Colder days have no similar effect on violence. Lower wages and higher unemployment contribute to higher homicide rates, so policies promoting employment may mitigate victimisation during extreme temperature days.

During the last 15 years, various regions around the world have been struck by some very strong heatwaves. This column uses examples of heatwaves in Australia to argue that a lack of acclimatisation is a key factor that influences how deadly these extreme temperature events are, and identifies thresholds for hotter temperatures that capture the temperature-related mortality relationship for such events.